Categories

Category: Common Sense

I saw this quote the other day on one of my information feeds and it resonated with me in regards to the ongoing relationship or lack thereof between the leadership of the Enterprise City School Board and the citizens of Enterprise.

The quote is, “Moving on doesn’t mean you forget about things. It just means you have to accept what happened and continue living.”

Reality

Based on his inaction so far I just do not see any change forthcoming from the President of the School Board. Continue reading Moving On

I did not plan for this subject to be an ongoing series but since this is now my third post on the subject I guess it now qualifies for that status. Much like Mrs. Carter and Mrs. Stinnett expressed at the most recent board meeting they did not want to be there speaking the hard truths and asking the hard questions, I did not want to write this.

However, the story continues and continues to be compelling to me and the hundreds of interested and involved citizens who care enough to continue to attend the Enterprise City School Board meetings each month to support Enterprise City Schools. Continue reading Overtime!

Beyond the shadow of a doubt is a standard of proof that is almost impossible to reach. Beyond a reasonable doubt is the standard needed in most litigation. Shadow of A Doubt is also a 1943 movie by director Alfred Hitchcock. Sadly, shadow of doubt is the cloud that now covers every action of the Enterprise City School Board.

When the news of the called board meeting for Monday at 3:00 PM was posted or learned last weekend, the first thought that I had and the first comment I heard from many who mentioned the meeting was, “I wonder why they scheduled it for that time?” Then there was either a snicker or a ‘wink wink’ because everyone knew what they were thinking. Some expressed the thought verbally, or in writing on social networks, “so the crowd at the meeting would be smaller since many people working would not be able to attend.”

I am not alleging that is the reason for the time of the meeting. There could be very valid reasons for scheduling the meeting at 3:00 in the afternoon and not at the normal evening time of 6:00 when the regular monthly board meeting is held. That is not the point I am trying to communicate.

The fact that that so many had a question or doubt or suspicion about the motive behind the timing of the meeting is the point.

Scrutiny is different than suspicion

Both scrutiny and suspicion start with an ‘s’ but that is where the similarities end.Scrutinyis defined as a searching study, inquiry, or inspection, a searching look, a close watch. Suspicionis defined as the act or an instance of suspecting something wrong without proof or on slight evidence – mistrust, a state of mental uneasiness and uncertainty – doubt.

We, as citizens and parents, should scrutinize the decisions of any school board through the lens of – is this decision, whatever it is, in the best interest of the students first, then the school system. If decisions are made with those criteria as guidelines then they will also be what are good for the city.

In case anyone is unaware, the school system is what draws many to the city of Enterprise which, in turn, adds to the city’s sales tax and property tax revenues.

However, we should not need to be suspicious of any decision the board makes because there is a reasonable level of doubt, whether we can prove the suspicion or not, that every decision was not made with these criteria as the filter.

Logic behind my perspective

I don’t pretend to speak for anyone but myself but do believe that my perspective on this situation is not uncommon. My opinion is derived from what I have read, seen, and heard regarding this situation over the past few weeks. Every decision this board makes is now looked on with suspicion as to the motives behind the decision because there is a definite lack of trust between many of the parents and citizens of Enterprise and the school board.

When I do not have first-hand knowledge about any issue I look to those who do have knowledge and “skin in the game” so to speak. Regarding theschool board issue, I tend to agree more with those that have worked in the school system for many years that helped to make the Enterprise City School System one of the best in the state and have spoken out on these issues.

They have been directly involved with the school system and issues in question now and have more first-hand knowledge of the people involved and the situation than me. Their history and records validate their desire for only what is in the best interest of the students and school system going forward. They really have nothing to gain by speaking out except to try to ensure the school system they love keeps moving in the right direction – forward. That seems logical to me.

We all have skin in the game

However, just for clarification, every current student, former student, teacher, administrator, support staff, parent, and anyone who cares enough to show up at these board meetings has “skin in the game” too. My hope is that we all keep showing up to show our support for our school system.

Honest disagreements with common goals and motives are good

We can and will have honest disagreements with how to achieve a goal but if our motives and goals are the same, those disagreements and discussion will be constructive and lead to the best decision instead of just a good decision. It doesn’t appear the motives and goals are in sync now between the board and the citizens so these type discussions cannot even occur.

This meeting was no more than going through the motions, literally and figuratively. There was no information shared with the public regarding how the interim superintendent and attorney were selected or about the process the board plans to follow to find a new superintendent. It seems to me that would have been reasonable information to share unless there is some reason not to share it. The school board chose not to share.

Sharing information “could” help

Information like this shared freely with the public “could” have an impact on the rumors that continue to surround the board and could, over time, build trust where none exists now. The best way to squelch rumors is to provide factual information that refutes or negates the rumors. If those facts “hurt someone’s feelings” then so be it.

Failure to share is a choice this board continues to make. Failure to share more information about these appointments, the search for a new superintendent, as well as the events that led to the need to appoint an interim superintendent and attorney just continues to perpetuate the rumors and distrust. The school board has chosen not to share.

As long as the school board continues to make the choice not to share they will continue to serve under a shadow of doubt. It puzzles me as to why they would want to serve under this cloud and choose not to be more forthcoming with information. They do have choices.

“A house divided against itself cannot stand.” I have heard that quoted at least twice in the last two weeks the Enterprise City School Board meeting on June 25, 2013 and again at the Enterprise City Council meeting on July 2, 2013 regarding the divided house that is now Enterprise, Alabama, a city divided.

Begging is not productive

I have also heard the mayor of Enterprise begging at both meetings for the citizens of Enterprise to come together and, for some reason I am yet to understand, magically start to trust members of the school board whom many believe have not dealt honestly, fairly, or even legally with the former Superintendent of Enterprise City Schools as well as the people of Enterprise.

Rumors, Accusations

Many accusations and rumors have circulated around Enterprise regarding this situation. I know people involved on both sides of the issue, went to school with some of them, go to church with some of them. Some were my teachers or administrators when I was in school here many years ago. Those rumors and accusations will continue to circulate and grow I suspect until these issues are addressed and resolved. It would do me or anyone else no good to repeat those here so I will refrain from doing so. When I do add my comments within this section they will look like this.

I believe the facts do bring up some interesting and pretty obvious questions. Until these questions are answered satisfactorily for the citizens of Enterprise in some of these meetings, or, if need be, in a court of law, the city will remain divided. When there is as much distrust between one group of people and those that are charged with making decisions in their best interest as there is here now a change has to occur to start down the road of rebuilding the trust that has been lost.

Facts

What I would like to provide first are the facts that are undisputed and then what I believe needs to be done for the city of Enterprise to have any chance at coming together and moving forward. You can see the minutes of these meetings at the Board of Education’s web site and videos at Southeast Sun’s YouTube channel.

May 28, 2013 School Board Meeting

In the May 28, 2013 school board meeting the results of a an evaluation by Dr. James Wright with Professional Services, LLC on the performance of Dr. Milner, the now former Superintendent of Enterprise City Schools. Dr. Wright said this was one of the strongest evaluation results he had seen. He said these strong results were an indication of Dr. Milner’s ability and efforts to work with the board.

June 18, 2013

Dr. Milner resigned as Superintendent of Enterprise City Schools and gave a 30 day notice in an email to the school board.

June 19, 2013 Special Called Board Meeting

School Board Vice President Joe Paul Stewart and School Board attorney J. P. Sawyer resigned. Ross Cotter was elected President of the School Board and Gloria Jones vice president by acclamation as no second to the nominations were given.

June 25, 2013 School Board Meeting

I attended this meeting along with several hundred other local citizens and news media. What I learned at this meeting from at least two of the existing board members if we, the citizens, had been at prior meetings then we would not have the situation we have now.

What this says to me is they believe they need to be watched and monitored so they do not make unwise or even illegal decisions. I can remember a time when the people chosen to serve in the capacity of school board member were expected to be of good character and to make wise decisions whether anyone was there to watch them or not.

What I also noticed at this meeting is the board members were asked specific and direct questions and chose to not answer many of them. This would have been an opportunity for them to respond and try to set the record straight from their perspective but choosing not to do so says something altogether different.

I also attended this meeting, which was standing room only, but the room is much smaller than the one used for the school board meetings. Local news media was in attendance at this meeting as well. The mayor covered the agreement made between the city and the school board that is one of the areas of concern for the citizens and school system. The agreement was made and approved by both the city council and school board so it does exist. The disposition of that agreement and what will happen when the $550,000 payments are supposed to start in 2016 does appear to be in the hands of the city. They do claim they will review the agreement and economic condition of the city and the school system at that time and determine if the payments will be required or not.

There were also statements made by the city attorney, Rainer Cotter, who is the son of the current President of the School Board, Ross Cotter, Joe Paul Stewart, former School Board Vice-President, Perry Vickers, former principal of Dauphin Junior High, and Dr. Jim Reese, former Superintendent of Schools.

My Questions

The summary above is just that, a summary, and is not intended to be all-inclusive. I do believe there is enough information provided for anyone to be read-in on the situation and able to form their own opinions on these events. Here are some questions that seem rather obvious to me and remain unanswered.

1) What happened to cause the Superintendent of Schools, who was well respected in Enterprise and just rated one of the best in the state of Alabama, the School Board Vice President and the School Board attorney to all resign within 16 hours? Did they all just decide it was time for a change coincidentally at the same time or was something else going on to cause these mass resignations?

2) Since it is the belief of many in Enterprise the three members of the school board asked to resign in the June 25th meeting were planning to vote to fire the superintendent and not accept his resignation, how can this same group of people be expected to select a qualified candidate as the new superintendent? How can anyone they select not be seen as just a figurehead? I don’t believe they can. Why would anyone want to be hired into this situation?

3) Could there be a conflict of interest in any discussions between the school board and city council regarding the disposition of $32,000,000 since the school board members are appointed by the city council?

4) Would it be better for all concerned if the school board members were elected?

My Suggestions

My suggestion as to what has to be done for any healing, coming together or moving forward to occur in Enterprise is for Mr. Cotter to resign his position as school board member. It would be better if we started with a clean slate of board members and members Brown and Jones were to resign as well. If they do really want to do what is best for the Enterprise City School System and the city of Enterprise that is what they would do.

As I mentioned earlier, the begging for us to come together and move forward and repeating the “house divided” quote without any changes is not working and will not work. There need to be changes made to show the citizens of Enterprise there is a reason for us to believe we can come together and move forward. There is no trust to build on now between the citizens of Enterprise and the School Board.

This would allow new members to be appointed (still not the best way to do this in my opinion – see question 4 above) to join the two members recently added and then some level of trust can be restored and the city can begin to heal, come together and move forward. If they choose not to do this and believe they can serve with any support from the citizens of Enterprise I believe this is a gross miscalculation on their part and just shows their resolve to hold on to their position or power and will confirm the accusations many have made. They would not have to admit they have done anything wrong, which they may not have, and just state they are doing this for the good of the school system and the city of Enterprise. This, however, would be doing something right.

With the current system of school board members being appointed by the City Council there does need to be some way the citizens can have input as to who these appointees are. If not, we could be back in the same situation again.

What are your thoughts? Please click the ‘Leave a reply’ link under the title of the post above.

I must have missed the memo so can someone tell me when what once was, and still is for me, vulgar and even obscene language evolved to become adult language?

I am an adult too

I have been an adult for many years myself and I choose to not use what is now commonly categorized as adult language. Does that mean I no longer qualify to be an adult? Am I being childish?

Since I have chosen to publish this blog I guess I am wondering if there is anyone else out there who feels the same way I do or am I just really peculiar or weird or the exception to the rule. I don’t mind being an exception and actually make an effort in this direction most of the time but things like this that just become “normal” and accepted because everyone is doing it often cause me to think…and sometimes write.

Offensive to me

I find it offensive. I am not talking about the language that is now supposedly “adult” but the implication by that label that all or most adults speak that way so it must now be called “adult language.” I do not accept that premise and believe it is rather childish and shows a lack of vocabulary or a choice to not use their vocabulary by the speaker.

I do understand that being offended is my choice as it is for anyone and is based on their beliefs and understanding. Like most things in life there are exceptions to this when someone is making a conscious effort to offend someone but that is not what I am talking about here.

I have no problem with the people who choose to use this “adult language” other than just my general dislike of the language. Until the freedom of speech is taken away from us, we all do still have free speech in this country. Everyone has the right to use the language they choose to use. That doesn’t mean I have to like the language anyone else uses or they have to like the words I choose to use. As long as we are not harming, threatening harm, or impeding on any of our other God-given rights we are still free to choose.

On a side note, this freedom, along with many of our other freedoms, are being eroded every day but that is another subject for another day.

The type of language anyone uses is still a choice that any individual can and does make every day.

Repetition does not make it so…or does it?

I find it offensive that language that was once vulgar and uncommon as everyday language has now become categorized and accepted as “adult”. I am an adult and that label offends me as it should any other adult who shares my perspective. According to Merriam-Webster adult means “fully developed and mature”. It does go on to say “dealing with explicitly sexual material” and uses adult book stores and adult movies as examples. I do understand that words in use do become colloquialized and evolve to have new meanings. Google was once just a noun, a name of a search engine, and now it is a verb too. Google it if you don’t believe me.

I guess I am just old-fashioned but I believe that many adult movies and adult books do not contain explicitly sexual material so is categorizing them as adult, in the same group as those that do contain explicitly sexual material really the best description or the best use of the language?

Confused

I was registering for a bulletin board site just yesterday and part of the rules for this board stated, “By agreeing to these rules, you warrant that you will not post any messages that are obscene, vulgar, sexually-oriented, hateful, threatening, or otherwise violative of any laws.”

Why didn’t they just say, “Do not use ‘adult’ language.”? I am confused.

Questions

I don’t propose to have any or all “the” answers but I do have a lot of questions and this is just one of many. This is nothing new for me. I get these questions in my head all the time. I am just writing some of them down now. My hope is that some of these questions might make you, the reader, think or look at a subject from a different perspective too. Another hope is that I can learn something new too as there is always more to learn.

Any Thoughts?

If you have a thought on the subject I would love to hear it. Let me know in the comments. Please do use adult language in your comments and do not post any messages that are obscene, vulgar, sexually-oriented, hateful, or threatening. While freedom of speech is still allowed in our country it is up to the blogger as to what is allowed on his or her site and if you have read this far you know what that means for this blog.

That word is often used to describe everything from your most recent meal to the creator of the universe. That covers a lot of ground.

I have had issues with using that word for some time ever since hearing the song “Awesome God” written and released first by Rich Mullins and then covered or released by every other contemporary Christian artist on the planet, or at least it seemed that way.

Whether you are a golfer or golf fan if you watch TV in March and early April every year you have probably seen commercial for The Masters, the first of the 4 major professional golf tournaments every year hosted and played at The Augusta National Golf Club in Augusta, Georgia. The tag line CBS uses for these ads is, “The Masters, a tradition unlike any other.”

Golf, A Game Like No Other

I have been a golfer and continue to be a fan of golf, the game and many of those who play it. I marvel at the skills they display and the game of golf itself is like no other. The tournaments are contested on different courses each week and the professional golfers depend on their own skills, work ethic, character, and mental toughness. Golfers pay close attention to the rules of the game and often call penalties on themselves even when no one else might have seen the infraction. They also hold their playing partners to the highest standard and can call attention to a rule infraction by their playing partners in order to protect the field. All of these factors determine how successful any golfer is or is not on the PGA Tour. Those are some of the primary reasons I love the game, the golfer is dependent on himself for success or failure and himself or herself alone and the character normally displayed is not common any more in today’s society.

A Tradition For Me

The Masters every April has always been my favorite tournament of the year and it has been a tradition for me to watch The Masters on Sunday afternoon every year for the past 40 years. I have not missed very many. Ask my family. Our children have grown up watching it and we have been there to practice rounds a couple of times. Augusta National is a beautiful place, one of the most beautiful I have ever seen. Look back at Abstract or just a different perspective?if you want to see more thoughts on Augusta National.

That is another reason I love golf. It is played on some of the most beautiful places in the world. Augusta National is the top of that list for me and millions of others. The Masters always marks the official beginning of spring for me. I think I can speak intelligently about the subject as I am somewhat familiar with it.

All that to say, what I am about to say about what The Masters did today is hard for me to say but it has so affected me I cannot not say it.

Bobby Jones and The Masters

Bobby Jones along with Clifford Roberts founded The Masters and was known for his integrity while playing the game and in his life after retiring from competitive golf at the age of 28. He was an amateur and played the game because he loved the game. He once saw his ball move, after addressing it, a rules violation, and called a penalty on himself. No one else saw the infraction and even the official recommended he not call the penalty because no one else had seen it. He did call the penalty on himself because he said he would know he saw it move and it was an infraction. This happened during The U.S. Open, another of the four major tournaments each year, and that one stroke caused him to tie for the tournament lead at the end of regulation and he eventually lost the tournament in a playoff.

There are many other instances such as this throughout the history of golf and this integrity of the game is one of the reasons I love it and sets golf apart from many other sports I believe.

The Masters Rules committee said they saw the drop and did not think it was a rule violation, a sad commentary on the rules committee, and did not mention this to Tiger then or when he finished his round before he signed his scorecard. Apparently a television viewer or viewers called in to say Tiger had violated the rules so they then decided to review the issue.

It is the player’s responsibility to know the rules of the game and abide by the rules. If they have a question about any of the rules there is always an official either with their group or one can be summoned to answer any question they have about a rule or situation. Tiger did not ask for help from an official. It is irrelevant whether Tiger thought he was breaking a rule or not. Ignorance of the rule does not imply you do not have to abide by it. If that was the case then all golfers would just plead ignorance when a rule violation was in question.

Review Not Handled Like All Others

Normally, when there is a question about a rule, an official is asked to make a ruling, the ruling is made and play continues. This is normally done before the player signs his scorecard. This did not happen Friday with this situation. Instead, the rules committee apparently had to think about the implications of this issue overnight as they did not summon Tiger to discuss this until Saturday morning. This is one of the reasons I am disappointed with The Masters. They have always been above reproach when it comes to their tradition and the rules of the game in keeping with the spirit of the founder of the tournament Bobby Jones.

Tiger Woods had several hours after this meeting with the rules committee to consider doing the honorable and right thing by disqualifying himself but chose not to. He could have gained much respect and many new fans and possibly more self-respect if he had and would not have his career marked with this asterisk and have “the Tiger rule” follow him around the rest of his career. I did not really expect him to do this but was hoping he might surprise me and the rest of the golfing world.

A Stroke of Preference

This mystique and standard was breached today with this ruling in much the same manner as Kobe Bryant or LeBron James do not get called for fouls that other, non-marquee players do get called for in basketball. Special treatment for Tiger Woods was given today as I have no doubt that if this was any other participant in the tournament this week disqualification would have been the result and it would have been handled Friday night and not Saturday morning. The reasons that seem obvious to me are TV rating and dollars. I never thought The Masters would lower itself to this level but since they have their tag line for me will be, “The Masters, a tradition like many others” and that is sad for me.

Breaking A 40 Year Tradition is Hard

So I will be breaking a 40 year tradition for me tomorrow afternoon. I will not be watching The Masters while Tiger Woods is still playing as I do not want my TV to be counted among the numbers that make up the ratings for the telecast and I want my integrity to remain intact. I cannot condemn their actions and then watch anyway. That would be hypocritical. I know my boycott will not make any difference to CBS or The Masters but it will make a difference for me. It will be hard, as breaking any tradition that has lasted 40 years would be.

After he is done I will probably watch the end of the tournament. I can’t say for sure right now what I will do next year. I do know Augusta National is still one of the most beautiful places on earth and I would like to visit again. I have a daughter and son-in-law who live in Augusta so I have another reason to visit as well. However, as with people, any time credibility is lost it is hard for it to be regained, if it ever is, and it does take time. That will be true of The Masters for me. They no longer hold the highest level of honor and credibility they did Thursday for me. I hope that does return but it will take some time if it does.

Until then, The Masters has now become a tradition like many others, a sad day for golf.

Maybe I will watch, Bobby Jones, A Stroke of Genius to remind me of the integrity of the man who started this tournament. Maybe The Masters Rules Committee and Tiger Woods should re-watch this too.

Those are my thoughts on the subject. I would love to hear yours in the comments.

This proverb is most often attributed to Benjamin Franklin since it appeared in his Poor Richards Almanack but was really just a proverb he was repeating. He never took credit for being the originator of this proverb. In any case there is wisdom contained within this proverb that many of us who like to think we are “smart” often do not follow.

I am a prime and very stubborn example of this as for most of my 51 years on this earth from high school until about a week or so ago I have stubbornly been trying to disprove this truth.

For the past 8 days though I have been trying something new, going to bed early and getting up early. To me going to be early is any time before midnight and I have done that on 7 of the last eight nights. I have been up anywhere between 5:00 and 6:05 AM every morning.

Healthy

As for healthy I have been blessed so far in my life with good health but rising early allows me to get some exercise, what would be considered very low impact weight training on a Total Gym and Ab lounger, the early models of both. It is something I have been able to do regularly and earlier in the day before life, work, and excuses “force” me to postpone this for another day.

Another health benefit is rising early allows me to get my daily Bible reading and quiet time done and done regularly which improves my spiritual health and builds spiritual muscle which benefits me in everything else I attempt to do.

Wealthy

As for wealthy, rising early allows me to get my physical and spiritual exercises done so I am not feeling guilty for not doing them all day when I am working on my day job. This makes me much more productive at work and, in time (once I get a handle on the current project I am working on) will allow me to spend more time with my family after work. Many days there seems to be no “after work” time (working from home is another subject for another day) and I want to change this. I am not there yet but I can see the “getting there” now.

Being more productive at work might not make me wealthy but will allow me to perform at a level that should keep me employed and allow for me to provide for my family. Obviously, there are no guarantees here though.

Rising early has provided me with the courage to start this blog, something I have been contemplating for months if not years. I don’t expect it to “change the world” but I do expect it to change my world by allowing me the opportunity and platform to write and express some of my thoughts and ideas. I am selfish in that I am writing for me. My secondary hope is that something I write will resonate with anyone who reads the words I string together and make them laugh, cry, go hmm…”why didn’t I think of that” or trigger another thought that really has nothing to do with the words they read.

Wise or Bloggier?

So for me,“Early to bed, Early to rise” does make me healthier, wealthier, and bloggier” (not sure that is a real word). I hope the wisdom will come someday too.

What Triggered This Change?

My parents often told me I should get more sleep and that not getting enough sleep was going to catch up with me some day. My wife and even my children have all told me on numerous occasions for many years I should go to bed and get more sleep. So you can see I have been told, warned, cautioned that this was a good idea. I guess that proves I just ‘might be’ one of those “stiff-necked people” that God talks about. I am sure those who know me would have no trouble believing this.

What has triggered this change for me you might ask? Well, since you did ask…while reading a guest post by Andy Traub on Chris LoCurto’s Leadership and Business blog I learned about his book Early To Rise: Learn to rise early in 30 days. He was also giving away a free copy. The title of the book intrigued me. His post and thoughts validated, reinforced, and reiterated what I had been told many times before. I did not win a copy of his book but bought my own copy a few days (actually 3 weeks in people time) later and decided it was time to take action on what I have known and have been told for years. So the book was not ‘the’ reason I decided to make this change. It was a culmination of what I had been told and really known for years. The book was just the trigger or catalyst or “the straw that broke the camel’s back.”

So that is how I got to where I am today with this new discipline I am trying to cultivate into a habit. It is still a work in progress as am I and there are still kinks to be worked out but I “finally” believe it is a discipline that is worthy of pursuit. Maybe I am getting wiser too.

Welcome to my blog called Peculiar Perspective. More about the title I chose in a moment.

“THE END!” This is how Zig Ziglar begins his most published and read book, which also happens to be my favorite See You At The Top. This was an effective and attention grabbing way to start this book, which gave me a new perspective on life and changed my life for the better. I am glad I didn’t stop reading there.

“Begin with the end in mind” and “Seek first to understand, Then to be understood.”

His points are valid when taken in the context they are given.

I understand the points these authors are making in their books but if interpreted or used in the wrong way, or just taken out of context, one could use these as excuses for never getting started whether that be in writing a blog, changing jobs, exercising more, losing weight or running for president. I have been doing that for too long in regards to writing and that has delayed the debut of this blog but that ends today!

(Wait for applause here…)

Thank you, thank you. Please be seated. Thank you for that warm welcome to the blogoshpere. 🙂

Peculiar by definition means odd, strange, weird, unusual, irregular, abnormal, unconventional, curious, or atypical, to name a few synonyms. I have been referred to as all of the above at one time or another. Some have told me I have a warped sense of humor. I don’t understand that. To me everyone else is warped and I am normal. God called the Israelites a “peculiar people”. He also called them “stiff-necked” (or stubborn) on multiple occasions but I will not go there right now.

Perspective is just someone, anyone’s viewpoint, outlook, perception or point of view. Everyone has one of these and since everyone includes me, I do too.

Peculiar Perspective is what I chose as my blog title since I am a peculiar person, either by God’s or man’s definition, and I do have a perspective or point of view. I am of the belief that my peculiar perspective on things is similar to many others and really is not peculiar at all but is what was known in an earlier time as common sense. As this blog develops over time this theory will either be validated or disproved. Time will tell.

I really do not know what this blog is going to look like as it develops. I have a lot of ideas rattling around in my brain and this may take many different directions before it becomes focused or it may never become focused on one theme or topic. I have been on this earth for a little over half a century (that sounds like a long time when quantified that way) so I have many experiences and lessons learned that should be appropriate, interesting and helpful to someone.

I am also not going to try to pin down a specific frequency for new posts. I expect it will be weekly or maybe 2-3 times a week to start and then will be adjusted based on how that goes.

“You don’t have to be great to start, but you have to start to be great.”

That doesn’t mean my blog is going to be great. That is my intention. However, I will never know unless I start.

So, I am starting right now, right here, today. No more questions to get answered, books or blogs to read on writing or blogging, over-analysis of whether I should or should not write and what I should or should not write about. No more trying to make it “perfect” before I publish it. My delaying tactics are done. This blog has begun. Hey, that rhymes. 🙂

Thank you for joining me on this journey into odd logic, or common sense, from a somewhat atypical angle.